Nielsen Scarborough
Nielsen Scarborough Review
Nielsen Scarborough is a branch of Nielsen, the world’s largest market research agency. This Scarborough panel is exclusive to the United States, where households are randomly selected in each local area. By participating in this research, respondents have the opportunity to tell local businesses about their choices and preferences in consumer products and services. In this way, participation in the Nielsen Consumer Survey is meaningful and impactful. Your answers will be counted for the many people who were not invited to the survey. The Scarborough project conducts 200,000 surveys annually in over 120 local areas across the US.
Daniel Williams – Our Editor in Chief: Dan is from Oxford, UK and is one of our reviewers who’s been with HuginX the longest. With a background in membership support at one of the largest survey companies, Dan has a lot of inside knowledge of the Market Research industry and has helped us refine our reviewing criteria. When Daniel is not working with reviews, he likes to go hiking with his dog Charlie.
Demographics covered by Nielsen Scarborough
To better understand the habits and trends of the consumer population, marketers must know what they are looking for in a survey. The data from the Scarborough surveys show poor proportionality relative to the population in markets with high Hispanic and African American populations. However, recent studies have shown that non-Hispanic Black proportionality has improved. Despite this, Hispanics remain severely under-represented in these markets. Scarborough includes additional Hispanic samples in eight high-density Hispanic markets to correct this imbalance. While this method does not guarantee that every market is representative of its minority population, the results show that this methodology is still an excellent way to gauge the pulse of your audience.
“Nielsen Scarborough captures local and national consumer insights across 2,000+ categories including leisure activities, shopping behaviors, purchasing patterns, and media consumption. Conducting 330,000+ surveys a year throughout the U.S., Nielsen Scarborough ensures that advertisers and media companies are equipped to meet the needs of their customers and uncover new strategic possibilities.” Nielsen
How to join the Nielsen Scarborough consumer panel
To join the Scarborough Surveys panel, you must first be invited. These surveys are not advertised and are only sent to members randomly. The company will send you an invite via email or phone.
How much can I make from taking part in the research?
The money you’ll earn with Nielsen Scarborough is not enough to make any meaningful extra income, but you’ll receive between $1-$10 a few times per year as a token of appreciation.
Are my data safe with Nielsen?
Your answers will be kept confidential and reported only in combination with other survey participants. They will never be reported individually. All the information you give to Nielsen will be private, including your name and contact information. Protecting your privacy is a priority for Nielsen, and they will never give your name or address to any company that wants to sell you things.
Top Rated Panels
- Transparent payment system
- Low redemption level
- High incentives compared to regular consumer survey sites
- Good selection of payment options
- Interesting survey opportunities
- High qualification rate
- Simple user interface
- Surveys are not always mobile-friendly
- Complex questions which can take a lot of concentration and time to fill out
- Consistent survey quality
- Good survey experience
- Rewards are in line with survey length and efforts
- Surveys on topics that you are familiar with
- Low redemption level
- Not a big earning possibility (usually less than $10 per month)
- Limited reward options
- Expiration of unused credit after 1 year
- Free to join
- Earn referral commissions
- Fair incentive level
- Good survey experience
- Professional MR company
- There is no signup bonus
- The minimum payout threshold is high
- PayPal and bank redemptions can take up to 30 working days to process
- Owned by one of the largest market research companies
- Above average payout per survey
- A low threshold to redeem rewards
- Easy to qualify for surveys
- Low volume of survey opportunities
- Technical glitches using the Pinecone Research app
- It is a free platform
- No payout threshold
- Gives loyalty credit if you do not qualify for a survey
- Complete confidentiality in your responses
- Above average incentive levels
- Limited earning opportunities
Types of survey opportunities with Nielsen Scarborough:
1. The Nielsen Scarborough Consumer Survey
The Nielsen Scarborough Consumer Survey asks about the activities you like, your shopping, travel and entertainment preferences, and your media choices – which newspapers you read, what you listen to on the radio, and what programs you watch on TV or other devices. Retailers and media companies in your local area will better use this information to meet their customers’ needs. Your answers will represent thousands of other people who were not invited to this survey.
You can take the Nielsen Consumer Survey on paper (posted through ordinary mail) or online.
2. The Nielsen Scarborough Telephone Survey
The Nielsen Scarborough Telephone Survey asks about your lifestyle behavior, education and media choices – which newspapers you read, what you listen to on the radio, and what programs you watch on TV or other devices. Retailers and media companies in your local area will use this information to meet their customers’ needs. Your answers will represent thousands of other people who were not invited to this survey.
3. The Nielsen Scarborough TV Diary
The Nielsen Scarborough Television Diary gives television stations, media companies, and local businesses an idea of what people like to watch in their local area. The TV Diary records the programs you watched on television for seven consecutive days. It is equally important as the Consumer Survey you have already completed. You received the TV Diary to represent thousands of people in your local area since we cannot ask everyone about their television viewing.
Is Nielsen Scarborough legit?
Yes, Nielsen Scarborough is legitimate. The company is headquartered in New York and has been in business for more than four decades. It is accredited by the Better Business Bureau and has an A+ rating. While few customer reviews are available for the company, they are a trustworthy market research company.
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Disclosure: While HuginX is editorially independent, we may earn commissions on sign-up links.
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